Philip H. Geier, Jr., the long-time chairman and CEO of the Marketing giant Called The Interpublic Group of Companies, died on Wednesday, June 19, in the age of 84.
Over the course of his nearly six-decade-long profession, Geier chose for himself at the worlds of both advertisements and philanthropy, operating together with big-name corporations from Coca-Cola Co. to General Motors Corp., while also devoting his time and money to hospitals, museums, and charitable associations and artistic projects.
Born in Michigan in 1935, Geier attended Colgate University for economics prior to earning an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1958. He served in the National Guard before procuring a job at McCann-Erickson, at which he worked his way upward through the ranks to become vice chairman of Interpublic, the advertising service ’s parent company, at 1975.
Back in 1980, Geier was appointed chairman and CEO of Interpublic–a situation he held for 20 decades. After Geier first approved the project, Interpublic had 8,000 employees and earned roughly $500 million in yearly profit; by the time of his departure, the firm had increased to over 50,000 employees across 650 global offices and had been registering $5.6 billion in yearly revenue.
“His knowledge was astounding, but equally significant was his happiness,” states Harris Diamond, the chairman and CEO of McCann World Group, who recalls meeting Geier after his death by Interpublic to search his valuable information. “He had been a advertising man. ”
During his tenure, Geier oversaw over 200 successful agency acquisitions and operated with corporate clients such as Exxon, L’Oreal and Nestle–but his lengthy creative career was not without a few blemishes.
Back in 1985, McCann helped establish New Coke, a revision of Coca-Cola’s timeless formulation so universally panned by customers that it had been removed from shop shelves less than 3 weeks after its release. Inside his 2010 memoir “Survive to Thrive,” Geier opened up about the New Coke industry blunder which has become synonymous. ”
Supported by research by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Interpublic and Coca-Cola were led to think its own “clients ‘’ve nowhere else to move ’,” Geier wrote, recalling that the study, although true, could end up being detrimental. “Those clients didn’t move to Pepsi–but they stopped drinking Coke. Just stopped dead. ”
Looking back, Geier had two takeaways from the flop: “Don’t assert with customers. If they’re angry at you, then act quickly to appease them,” and, “Don’t assume advisers are always right. Theyrsquo;re not. ”
After starting from Interpublic at 2000, Geier proceeded to create the Geier Group, an advertising and venture capital consulting company. He subsequently served as chairman of the U.S. Ad Council and has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame at 2004.
“[Geier] received innumerable awards and honors at not only his business, but also from the arts and philanthropy also,” according to his or his obituary, which was published from The New York Times on Sunday.
Geier invested in and co-produced several critically acclaimed Broadway reveals in his life, such as a 2007 stage production of 1928 drama “Journey’s End,” which won a Tony Award that year for Best Revival of a Play.
The following Times obituary that conducted on Saturday, which was composed on Geier’s benefit by the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he served as a trustee and board member for 27 decades, said, “Phil made a huge difference in a large number of lives throughout his pioneering career in marketing, generous philanthropy and devotion to his family. ”
In addition to this Whitney, Geier served on the boards of several prominent non-profit organizations throughout his life such as Autism Speaks, Save the Children and New York City’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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